Spotlight

  While the 4th of July's historical importance is significant, the spirit with which the holiday is infused is what makes it truly special. Americans are proud of their heritage, proud of the struggles of our fledgling nation, proud of the brand of democracy we employed at our outset, but more than anything, Americans love to…

Mementos and Memories Sunday, August 18, 2013 – 3:00-6:00 p.m. Wonderful Things by Kim, Longwood, FL I am so excited to tell you about this new workshop I’m offering in August. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before, and I know you’re going to love it. Memories from your life stand ready, waiting to be written in the…

Seated: Nancy Miller, Pat Howard Standing: Nancy Sigler, Carl Miller, Anne Blair, Sandy Gonzalez At our first workshop of a summer program, six brave participants (who didn't realize they would actually be writing at our first meeting), stepped up to the challenge of writing on the spot. We talked about focusing on a specific moment rather…

Nancy Quatrano & Patricia Charpentier Eager writers from the Florida Writers Association Ancient City chapter filled the library for my Write Your Life Stories presentation on Saturday, June 15th. Here's what people had to say about the talk: Thank you for being with us on Saturday and for helping people find a way to bring the past to…

The phrase Best Friends Forever has been floating around for a while now, and it got me to thinking about some good friends who have been in my life for as long as I can remember. The friends you had as a child or teenager know you in a way that no friends from your…

It's always a good idea to stretch your descriptive vocabulary. So often we fall into a rut with our language, using the same words over and over. Foods are a great place to start when you want to bring fantastic detail into any story you're writing because it's something we humans have in common: we all…

One of my favorite moments in the Pixar movie Up is when little Russell is thinking back to a particular tradition he had with his father after his parents divorced. It's a heart-felt, heart-breaking, sincere moment between the two of them, after Mr. Fredricksen asks whether his dad had ever taken him camping. He hadn't, but this…

We always end our nine-week Writing Your Life class with a reading for family and friends, and in each session, the stories get better and better. Our spring class reading certainly did not disappoint. Click the photo to view the album from this event. While studying Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, we focused our session on…